Gun mounting



Nov. 12, 1946.

E. A. B. RICE ET AL.

GUN MOUNTING Filed oct. l5, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheer. l

Q LL

INVENTORZ E.A.B. RICE. AG. ROSE. 5.CURTIS ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 12, 1946. E. A. B. RICE ET A1.

GUN MOUNTING Filed Oct. 15, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q 3 wv Q wm llll Nov.12, 1946. E. A. B. RICE ET A1; 2,411,114

GUN MOUNTING Filed Oct. l5, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIC-3.3.

INVENTQR;

E.A.B. RICE. A.G.Ros|:. s. CURTIS BY ATTORNEYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGA.

INVENTORI E.A.B. RICE. A.G,F\OSE. S. CURTIS.

7 m ATTORNEYS E. A. B. RICE ET AL GUN MOUNTING Filed ost. 15, 1941 Nov.12, 1946.

Patented Nov. l2, 1945 GUN MOUNTING Edward Arthur Beckton Rice, NewtonAbbot, and Alfred German Rose and Sidney Curtis, Gainsborough, England;said Rose and said Curtis assignors to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough)Limited, Gainsborough, England, a company of Great Britain l ApplicationOctober 15, 1941, Serial No. 415,028 In Great Britain October 24, 1940(Cl. Sil-37.5)

7 Claims.

This invention relates to gun mountings of the type in which the gun orgun assembly is mounted on a carriage arranged for movement along atrack.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gun mounting ofthis type in which the gun carriage can be quickly moved from oneposition to another along the track Without distracting the attention ofthe operator from the target and without the need for much exertion onthe part of the operator.

According to the present invention, there is provided a gun mounting ofthe type described wherein the carriage is arranged to be driven alongthe track by a, rotatable driving member mounted in the carriage andengaging the track, driving means being provided on the carriage forbringing labout rotation of the driving member, and wherein the startingand stopping of the driving means is controlled by a pair of controllingmembers one of which is adapted upon operation to cause the drivingmeans to rotate in one direction and the other to cause the drivingmeans to rotate in the opposite direction. Conveniently, the controllingmembers are adapted for attachment to the hand grip of the gun or gunassembly.

More specically, the gun mounting according to the invention enables agun or guns to be swung in azimuth in opposite directions by the manualoperation of control means on the gun or guns.

Conveniently, the motor is mounted on the carriage in such a mannerthat, in the' event of failure of the motor to drive the pinion for anyreason, e. g. a discharged battery, the motor can be quicklydisconnected from the pinion, leaving the carriage free to be movedalong the track by hand. Thus, the motor may be carried on a bracketpivoted on the carriage and provided with a spring tending to cause thebracket to swing away from the carriage to disconnect the motor from thepinion, the bracket being normally locked in position against the actionof the spring by a spring-loaded locking pin passing through the bracketinto the carriage and re-` leased by pulling out the pin.

The invention is particularly useful in its application to gun mountngsfor aircraft, armoured cars and the like, and, by way of example, suchan application of the invention will now be described in greater detail,with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a gun mounting laccording to the invention,shown in position in the fuselage of an aeroplane,

Figure 2 is a part sectional end elevation of the mounting, drawn to alarger scale than Figure 1, as viewed from the right of Figure 1, thecarriage being deemed to fbe in a central position on the track,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the carriage, drawn to a larger scale thanFigures 1 and 2, with the upper structure removed, f Y

Figure 4 is a part sectional elevation taken on the line 4-4 in Figure3, with a portion of the upper structure removed, and

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the construction of the track.

Referring to the drawings, a track generally indicated by referencenumeral II is mounted in the fuselage l2 of an aeroplane by means ofsupporting brackets I3, attached to a platform IllV in the fuselage, anda bracket I6 attached to a shield I'I which is itself mounted on theplatform I4 by means of a bracket I8. The track II consists of astraight portion a, extending transversely of the fuselage I2, and twoarcuate portions b merging into the straight portion a and extendingtowards the front of the aeroplane. The track II has a cross-section ofchannel shape and is disposed with the flanges I9 of the sectionhorizontal and the Web-2| of the section on the insid e of the track.

Supported on rollers 22 arranged to run on the faces of the anges I9 isa gun carriage 23 attached to the top of which is a gun supportingpillar 24 which is formed at its upper extremity with a split bearing26, 21 adapted to carry a gun assembly consisting of a pair of machineguns 28. The portion 26 of the bearing 26, 21 is hinged on the pillar 24at 29 for easy removal of the gun assembly, a quick-release pin 3l beingprovided for locking the two parts of the bearing together.

The gun carriage 23 embraces the track I I and is guided on the track bya pair of rollers 32 and tWo pairs of rollers 33. The rollers 32 arearranged to bear against the face of the web 2| of the track II (seeparticularly Figure 4), one towards the top of the track and the othertowards the bottom, and are freely mountedon a vertical shaft 34rotatably supported in bearings 36 housed in the upper and -loWerwallsofthe carriage. The rollers 33 are varranged to bear against thevertical faces of the flanges I9 of the track I I, the upper pair beingfreely mounted on studs 31 attached to the upper wall of the carriage 23at positions one on each side of the i axis of the rollers 32(considered in the direction of travel of the carriage), while the lowerpair are freely mounted on studs 38 attached to the lower wall of thecarriage at positions coaxial with the studs 31.

The face of the web 2l of the track II and the vertical faces of theflanges I9 of the track thus act as guiding surfaces for the carriage 23and the width of the track Ii, i. e. the distance between the face ofthe web 2i and the vertical faces of the flanges i3, is such as -toprovide just sufficient clearance between Vthe ytrack II andthe rollers32 and 33 for easy running. -It will be understood that the width of thetrack ii is greater on the arcuate portions b than on the straightportion a because of the ytriangular disposition of the rollers 32 and33 as viewed in plan.

At the junctions of the straight portion a and the arcuate portions b of'the track II, the face of the web 2| is provided with a cam surface 39,the purpose of which is -to ensure that Vthe `rollers v32 and 33continue simultaneously to bear on the track II during the passage ofthe carriage .23 from the straight portion a to the arcuate portions band vice versa.

The construction of the track -II is shown in Figure and since thearcuate portions Vb merge into the ends of the straight portion a in-anidentical manner, it will be sufficient -to 'describe the merging of oneof 'the arcuate portions vbintlofthe straight portion a.

The outer surface of the arcuate portion b of the track II, i. e., thepath followed 'by the Vertical faces of the flanges I9, follows an ,arcstruck from a'point o until itfmeets the-outer surface of the straightportion a at av point in a line o o, 'theline o o being disposed-normalto the straight portion a of the track and passing through the'point o.lThe straightportion a'o'f the track thencontinues as a tangent to the-outer surface of the arcuate portion b. vThe yinner sur- :ing camsurface `39 yuntil it meets the inner .sur-

face of the straight portion'a at a point "in a line d-d runningparallel with the line o o. The inner surface of the straight portionvathen continues on a path parallel to that followedfby the outer face ofthe straight portion a.

It will .thus be seen that the compensating cam surface 39 extends oneach side of theline .o-o. The length of the cam surface '39 and itsdisposition in relation to the line o-o depends :on the relativedispositions of the roller 32 and the rollers 33. Thus, assuming'thecarriagel 23 to be moving from left to right, it will be seen from thetwo positions of the carriage 23 shown in `Figure 5, that the camsurface 39 extends to theleft of line o-oby an amount such that when thecentre of the forward roller 33 lies on the line o-o, and lthe roller isthus at the junction of the straight and arcuate portions of the trackI'I, the centre of the roller 32 lies on the line d-d and is thus aboutto come under the influence of the cam surface 39; The carriage 23 isshown in this position by full lines. The full lengthof the cam 'surface39 is such that when the centre vof the rearward roller 33 lies on theline-o-o, and the '2l of the `track II.

carriage 23 is shown in this position by chaindotted lines. The profileof the cam surface 39 is such that the rollers 33 and the roller 32continue simultaneously to bear on the track I I during the passage ofthe carriage 23 from the straight portion a to the arcuate portion b andVice versa.

With this construction, the rollers 33 and the roller 32 are disposed soas to provide rigid support for the carriage at any position on thetrack while, at the same time, the carriage can be freely moved alongthe track.

Secured to the central grooved portion of the shaft 34 is a pinion 4Iarranged to mesh with a rack 42 secured to the central portion of theweb The portions of the rack corresponding t0 the straight portion a andthe arcuate portions b of the track i I each have teeth of a standardform except on the portions corresponding to the cam surfaces 39 where,it will be understood, `the teeth have to be slightly modified in shapeso as to allow smooth operation between the rack 42 and the pinion 4i.duringthe passage of the carriage from the arcuate portions b to thestraight portion a and Vice Versa.

The shaft 34 protrudes through the bottom wall of the carriage 23 andhas secured to its protruding grooved end a driving ange 43 which isarranged t0 be driven by an annular wormwheel 44 through a pair offlanged gripper members 45 in a manner which will'be described later.The wormwheel 44 is arranged to'be driven by a'worm 46 secured to ashaft 4-1 supported in bearings 43 carried by a bracket 49 pivotallyattached at 50 to a'bracket `5I secured to the carriage 23. Stops 52,having inclined abutment surfaces, are formed on Ythe bracket Y49 Vtoprevent excessive -pivotal movement thereof, the vabutment surfacesnormally being clearof the carriage 23 byl an amount sufficient to allowadequate pivotal movement of the bracket 49. The worm 46 is driven froman electric motor 53, 'attached to the bracket -4'9 through gears 54, 55and155,-the-gear-54 being secured tothe armatureshaft '51 of the motor53,-the gear 55'being freely mounted on ay studi-58 carried by thebracket49 and the gear 56 being secured to the worm shaft 41.

TheV annular wormwheel v44fis formed with an Vinterna-1l surface whichtapers from v`a rmaximum is secured to the driving ange 43 vby a series`of driving bolts-62 the heads of which pass through the lower-gripper.member 45. The `pressure exerted by the springs' 59 is adjustable bymeans of nuts 63 for the purpose of varying vthe gripping pressurebetween the gripper members -45 `and the wormwheel 44. Y

With the above construction,it will beseen that the wormwheel 44 andthegripper members 45 constitute a slipping clutch mechanism which willprevent damage to the apparatus in the event that the motor 53 iskeptrunning longA enoughto cause the carriage v23 to strike the Y supporting`brackets I3 at the ends of thetrack I-I ,the worm- Wheel 44, in such anevent, merely slipping round `the gripper members 45 against the actionofthe springs 59.

A Asmentioned above, therbracket '49 is pivoted at 50 and carries themotor 53 withits gear 54, the intermediate gear 55, and the worni 46with' its gear .56. It will be seen, therefore, that when the-bracket 48is swung awayfroni the carriage 23 `the worm- 46 is caused to'disengag'efrom the wormwheel 44 and thusdisconnect the -drivefrorn themotor-53 to the pinion 4I.- A leaf spring 66is attached to the carriage23 and is caused'to exert aspring pressure against the bracket 49 whenitis inthe operative position, as shown in Figure 4, so lthatfthe bracket49 is continuously urgedto swing outwardly. i

In order to'lock the bracket 49 in its operative position against theaction of the spring 66,

there is provided a plunger 61 which ishoused in a bearing 68 attachedto a lug 69 extending from the bracket 49 and lying adjacent an end ofthe vertical wall of the carriage. The plungerv 61 passes through thelug 46i into a recess 1I in the carriage and the bearing 68 is formedwith a recess 12 for the accommodation of a spring 13 disposed aroundthe shank 14 ofthe plunger 61 and bearing at one end against the plungerG1 and at the other end against the base of thel recess` 12. The shank14 protrudes through the bearing 68 and has secured to itsend by meansof a pin 16 a. knob 11 in which isgsecured a pin 18 to facilitatehandling.VA o

In order to counteract any twisting moment in the carriage 23 arisingfrom the disposition of the motor 53 and its associated gearing inrelation to the track I I, there is secured to the lower wall of thecarriage 23 an arm 19, suitably recessed for the accommodation of thewormwheel 44 and its associated parts, provided at its extremity remotefrom the carriage .23 with a roller 8l freely mounted on a stud 82secure-d to the arm 19, the roller BI being arranged to bear against anauxiliary track 83 secured to the platform I4 by means of bolts 84.

The motor 53 is of the reversible type and is connected to an electricbattery (not shown) through a pair of contactor starters (not shown) anda pair of thumb switches 86 and S1 attached one to the hand grip of eachof the pair of machine guns .28, the electrical connections being suchthat the switch 85 causes the motor 53 to rotate in the directionnecessary to drive the carriage 23 from right to left (as viewed inFigure 1) and the switch 81 causes the motor to rotate in the oppositedirection to drive the carriage from left to right.

It will be seen that, to move the carriage 23 from one position toanother on the track I I, it is only necessary for the operator todepress one or the other of the switches 86 or 81, depending on the'direction in which it is desired to move the carriage, whereupon themotor 53 is caused to rotate in the appropriate direction and drives thepinion 4I through the gears 54, 55 and 56, the worm 46 and the wormwheel44, the pinion 4I, in turn, rolling along the rack 42 to drive thecarriage 23 along the'track Il.

The pivotal mounting of the bracket 49 allows the drive to the pinion 4Ito be disconnected at will so that, should the necessity arise, thecarriage 23 can be freed for movement along the track Il by handoperation. Thus, in the event of failure of the motor 53 to drive thepinion 4I for any reason, it is only necessary for the operator towithdraw the knob 11 against the action of the spring 13 until theplunger 61 is clear of the recess 1I in the carriage 23,'whereupon thebracket '49,* together with the moto'rf53 and its associated gearing,"is caused to-swing'outwardly un'derthe action of the spring- 66.'to-disconne'ct the worm 46 from v'the'wormv'vheel-44. =The carriage`23is then free to b'e moved along the track by hand(r When the mounting isbeingusedin this manner, the carriage Y23 may be locked atany givenposition along the track I I by pushing the bracket 49 towards thecarriage untilthe plunger 61 snaps back into locking position when theworm 46 by its engagement with the lwormwheel 44 effectively locks thecarriage against movement along the track. A hand knob 83 is attached tothe armature'shaft 51 of the motor at the opposite end to the gearf54for the purpose of turning the armature shaft slightly in case the worm46 does not properly engage the wormwheel 44 when the bracket 49 is swng back into operative position. 7 Y

We claim: n A

1. A gun mounting comprising atrack,`a` gun carriage movably supportedon the track and arranged to carry a pair of guns, vmeans von saidcarriage for guiding it along the track, the track being formed with arack extending along'v its length, a rotatable pinion mounted insaid-carriage and arranged to engage the rack, a reversible electricmotor mounted on said carriage in driving connection withfsaid pinion,`said vmctor being carried on a bracket pivotedon said carriage, springmeans tending to cause said bracket to swing away from said carriage soas to disconnect said motor from said pinion, a, springloaded lockingpin arranged to pass through said bracket into said carriage so as tolock said bracket in its operative position against the action of saidspring means, and a pair of switches arranged to connect said motor witha source of electric power, e. g., a battery, in such a manner that oneswitch is capable of bringing about rotation of said motor in onedirection and the other is capable of bringing about rotation of saidmotor in the opposite direction, said switches being adapted forattachment one to the hand grip of each of said guns.

2. A gun mounting comprising a, track of the kind in which portionshaving different paths merge into each other, said track being formedwith two opposing carriage-guiding surfaces, a gun carriage movablysupported on said track and arranged to engage said guiding surfaces atat least three points simultaneously, at least two of said points beingon one of said surfaces and the remaining point or points being on theopposing surface, at least one of said surfaces being formed on at leastone merging portion of the track with at least one compensating camsurface against which a surface-contacting point on said carriage bears,during passage of said carriage over said merging portion of said track,to cause said carriage to continue to bear on said track at said points.

3. A gun mounting comprising a track the path of which comprises astraight portion and a curved portion merging into each other, saidtrack being formed with opposing outer and inner carriage-guidingsurfaces, a gun carriage movably supported on said track and arranged tocarry a pair of guns, guiding means on said carriage arranged to engagesaid surfaces at three points simultaneously for guiding said carriagealong said track, two of 'said points being on said outer surface andthe remaining point being on said inner surface, said inner surfacebeing pro- ,videdon the mergingportion .of said track with acompensatingcam surface againstwhichfone Vof the :carriage-,guiding ymeans isarranged to 'bear during passage of said carriage yover said Yper-.tionof said track to cause said carriage to'continue lto bear at -saidVthree points, a rack extending along the length of said "track, and arotatable pinion Ymounted 'insaid carriage and arranged to engagesaid-rack. Y

.4. A gun mounting including -a ,-track, a gun carriage havingguidedymovement fon Said track,

`driven means on said vcarriage contacting said track to cause `themovement ,of Athe -.carriag e, a bracket -connected with said carri-agefor movement to an active position or aninactiveposition, and drivingmeans on said bracket which cooperates with said driven means to drivethe latter to move vthe carriage when thebracket is in the activeposition, said driving means being disengaged from said driven meanswhen the bracket is in its inactive position. l

5. A gun mounting including a track, a gun carriage constructed andarranged to move` along said track, rollers on said .carriage rotatableon vertical axes respectively invrolling contact Vwith opposite sidesrespectively of said track, other rollers on said carriage rotatable onhorizontal Aaxes respectively in rolling contact with upper surfaces ofsaid track respectively, a driven shaft providing the axle for certainofsaid rollers, and means on the shaft which coacts with means on `causesaid carriage to move along'the track, driving means mountedon saidcarriage and arranged to bring about rotation Aof said driving member,said driving means beingcarried on a-bracket pivoted `on said carriage,:spring means tending to cause said bracket to swing awayfromthecarriage, so as to disconnect the driving .means from the drivingmember, means formaintaining said bracket in the driving position,Vmeans for releasing vsaid bracket so las Lto allow it to swing awayfrom the carriage under the inuence .of `the spring, and a pair ofcontrolling members fin yconnection-with said driving means, one of thecontrolling members being arranged upon voperation to cause the drivingmeans to vrotate in one direction andthe other-to cause the drivingmeans to rotate in the opposition direction.

7. A gun mounting according to claim 6, including a xed stop arranged tolimit the extent of the pivotal movement of said bracket under theinuence of sai-d spring.

`EDWARD ARTHUR BECKTON RICE. rALFRED GERMAN ROSE.

SIDNEY CURTIS.

